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Welcome to a journey into human history. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. You may be asking yourself what is history? Is it simply a record...
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Welcome to a journey into human history. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. You may be asking yourself what is history? Is it simply a record of things people have done? Is it what writer Maya Angelou suggested—a way to meet the pain of the past and overcome it? Or is it, as Winston Churchill said, a chronicle by the victors, an interpretation by those who write it? History is all this and more. Above all else, it is a path to knowing why we are the way we are—all our greatness, all our faults—and therefore a means for us to understand ourselves and change for the better. But history serves this function only if it is a true reflection of the past. It cannot be a way to mask the darker parts of human nature, nor a way to justify acts of previous generations. It is the historian’s task to paint as clear a picture as sources will allow. Will history ever be a perfect telling of the human tale? No. There are voices we may never hear. Yet each new history book written and each new source uncovered reveal an ever more precise record of events around the world. You are about to take a journey into human history. The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. For more information please review the links and resources in the description. Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a creative common sense production.
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Transcribed
8 NOV 2024 · When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, it seemed possible to many in the West that the United States would lead the world into a new era of universal liberal democracy. But in 2001, the September 11 attacks by the terrorist group al-Qaeda prompted the United States to begin wars in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. The mistakes made in Iraq damaged the reputation of the United States and weakened its ability to preserve stability in the world. Its intervention in Iraq also spurred the growth of the Islamic State, responsible for violent attacks in Iraq, Syria, and Africa.
Violence, civil war, and persecution have led large numbers of refugees from the Middle East and Africa to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Their arrival has provoked some resistance, and a number of ultranationalist groups have sprung up in the United States and Europe. The migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is partly the result of violence and instability in a number of Latin American countries, such as civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala.
Violence and human rights abuses have plagued Sub-Saharan Africa for decades. Many occur in the Global South, and critics have connected the economic problems there to the region’s history of imperial exploitation by countries in the Global North. One of these problems is the resource curse, or the difficulty of responding to domestic needs faced by resource-rich countries.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/15-4-ongoing-problems-and-solutions
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
6 NOV 2024 · By the 1990s, computers had become commonplace in developed countries, though fears about their potential impact on privacy grew with the rise of the internet and social media. Easy access to social media over smartphones helped young protestors in Tunisia and Egypt organize to challenge their governments. The movement spread across the Middle East in the form of the Arab Spring. Some nations such as China have since blocked the use of many social media platforms.
Medical scientists have made great strides in curing and preventing diseases. Vaccines eliminated smallpox around the world and came close to eliminating polio. But new illnesses arose, including Ebola virus and HIV/AIDS. Since it was identified in the 1980s, treatments have emerged to make it a manageable disease for many rather than a lethal one, though in the developing world, it is still a huge problem. The most recent challenge to world health, the COVID-19 pandemic that began in December 2019, demonstrates how both globalization and technological developments affect life in the twenty-first century.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/15-3-science-and-technology-for-todays-world
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
4 NOV 2024 · In the 1950s and 1960s, some in developed countries began responding openly to the environmental problems they saw around them, including those caused by the Green Revolution. Scientists like Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, gave legitimacy to these concerns, and many people became environmental activists working to promote change. They and the environmental groups they created spoke of the need to address global warming and climate change, the dangers of nuclear energy, deforestation, the ozone hole, and many other problems. These efforts were occasionally met with resistance, not just from those who survived by exploiting natural resources in their own developing countries, but also from workers, like loggers and others, in developed countries. By the 1980s, international groups like the United Nations were also calling for action. Specific measures like the Montreal Protocol were followed by the UN’s ambitious 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming. But achieving international agreement about how best to handle the problem of climate change remains a struggle.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/15-2-debates-about-the-environment
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
1 NOV 2024 · In the aftermath of World War II, countries began to open trade and communications around the world. In Europe, the EEC or Common Market eventually grew into the EU. In Asia, countries worked together to create their own trading blocs like ASEAN and APEC. Canada, Mexico, and the United States signed the NAFTA treaty, later replaced by USMCA. All these trading blocs and organizations have made it easier for MNCs to operate around the world, leading to a rise in the standard of living for many developing countries.
But MNCs are often criticized for their profit-driven approach, which can create lasting problems in developing countries, sometimes made worse by efforts to encourage these nations to privatize their public utilities. The poorest groups are also most commonly exploited by MNCs that contract with large factories or sweatshops in developing countries. Wealthy corporations like Apple and Nike have frequently been criticized for profiting from the labor of poorly paid workers in unsafe environments in places like China and Bangladesh.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/15-1-a-global-economy
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
30 OCT 2024 · In the 1980s, communism began to loosen its grip on parts of the world in which it had once been dominant. The Soviet Union found itself divided by the need to provide for its citizens at home, maintain control over its satellite states in Eastern Europe, fight a war in Afghanistan, and respond to the buildup of nuclear and conventional weapons that took place during the administrations of U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Mikhail Gorbachev’s efforts to strengthen the Soviet Union through perestroika and glasnost proved unsuccessful. When the Warsaw Pact nations sought independence in the late 1980s, the Soviet Union was unable to respond as it once had, and faced with liberation movements in its own republics, the USSR disbanded in 1991. Although China did not turn its back on communism, the death of Mao allowed Deng to institute reforms that introduced elements of capitalism to the Chinese economy.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/14-5-a-new-world-order
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
28 OCT 2024 · The Cold War was marked by global tensions. In Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet satellite states in the Eastern Bloc tested Moscow’s resolve to maintain control as their citizens pushed for greater freedoms and an end to Soviet domination. Rebellions in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia were quickly crushed by the USSR. The United States attempted to stem the tide of communist expansion in both Latin America and Asia as it intervened in Guatemala, Cuba, and Vietnam. At times, as in Berlin in 1961 and Cuba in 1962, the United States came perilously close to military conflict with the Soviet Union. By the late 1960s, however, a split between the USSR and China gave the United States greater opportunities to maneuver on the world stage. As the Western and Eastern Blocs faced off against one another in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, in Africa the inhabitants of British, French, Belgian, and Portuguese colonies were fighting for their independence.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/14-4-global-tensions-and-decolonization
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
25 OCT 2024 · Not all nations chose to align themselves with the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In Europe, Yugoslavia chose to remain outside the Soviet orbit even though it was a communist country. Many former European colonies became members of the Non-Aligned Movement, which sought to find a path to development that did not require becoming a satellite of either of the superpowers. Among the leaders of this movement were Indonesia, India, and Egypt, which still all found themselves accepting aid from the United States, the USSR, or both. Egypt, however, was drawn closer to the Soviet Union because of Western support for Israel and the belief that Western powers were thwarting its plans to become the leader of the Arab world.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/14-3-the-non-aligned-movement
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
23 OCT 2024 · In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led by Mao Zedong defeated the Guomindang (GMD, the Nationalists) led by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) and founded the People’s Republic of China, which the United States refused to recognize. Communism spread elsewhere in Asia as well. In 1950, the communist leader of North Korea invaded South Korea and called on the Chinese to help him defeat South Korean and UN forces led by the United States. Communists also assumed power in North Vietnam after Vietnam was divided following a war of independence with France. The United States, in an effort to stop the further spread of communism, supported South Vietnam as it had South Korea, while China and the Soviet Union gave aid to North Vietnam. Within China itself, people struggled to industrialize the nation under Mao. Many died in the resulting famine and in the Cultural Revolution that followed.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/14-2-the-spread-of-communism
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
21 OCT 2024 · Following World War II, the two remaining superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—entered the Cold War, an ideological contest in which each side competed for supremacy through the use of economic aid, military assistance, technology, and propaganda. U.S. foreign policy was focused on containment, preventing the influence of the Soviet Union and the ideology of communism from spreading beyond Eastern Europe. A major test of each nation’s resolve to defeat the other came with the Soviet Union’s blockade of West Berlin in 1948–1949. The United States emerged victorious and with its Western Bloc allies formed the mutual defense organization known as NATO. The Soviet Union responded by forming the Warsaw Pact with the Eastern Bloc countries of Eastern Europe.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/14-1-the-cold-war-begins
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Transcribed
18 OCT 2024 · Even before the end of the war, the Allied powers were confident that victory would come. In a series of meetings, Allied leaders arranged the postwar world they envisioned, including by deciding how Germany would be divided. In the Pacific theater of war, the showdown between the United States and Japan concluded with the dropping of the first nuclear bombs, first at Hiroshima and then at Nagasaki. In the aftermath of the conflict, it was clear just how much had been lost. Tens of millions of people had died. Nazi and Japanese war criminals were put on trial. The governments of several countries were in shambles. But rebuilding did begin, in Japan starting with a new constitution and a new focus on demilitarization and human rights.
All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/13-4-out-of-the-ashes
Welcome to A Journey into Human History.
This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.
The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.
Welcome to a journey into human history. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. You may be asking yourself what is history? Is it simply a record...
show more
Welcome to a journey into human history. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. You may be asking yourself what is history? Is it simply a record of things people have done? Is it what writer Maya Angelou suggested—a way to meet the pain of the past and overcome it? Or is it, as Winston Churchill said, a chronicle by the victors, an interpretation by those who write it? History is all this and more. Above all else, it is a path to knowing why we are the way we are—all our greatness, all our faults—and therefore a means for us to understand ourselves and change for the better. But history serves this function only if it is a true reflection of the past. It cannot be a way to mask the darker parts of human nature, nor a way to justify acts of previous generations. It is the historian’s task to paint as clear a picture as sources will allow. Will history ever be a perfect telling of the human tale? No. There are voices we may never hear. Yet each new history book written and each new source uncovered reveal an ever more precise record of events around the world. You are about to take a journey into human history. The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. For more information please review the links and resources in the description. Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a creative common sense production.
show less
Information
| Author | Miranda Casturo |
| Organization | Miranda Casturo |
| Categories | History |
| Website | - |
| bmcasturo@mix.wvu.edu |
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